


Heat and Pressure

by gloriouscacophony



Category: Pan Am
Genre: Ambiguous Relationships, F/M, Flying, Intrigue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-08
Updated: 2011-12-08
Packaged: 2017-11-09 16:13:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/457427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gloriouscacophony/pseuds/gloriouscacophony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pan Am is awesome. It has its flaws, but I absolutely love stewardess-turned-spy Kate. After episode 9, I’m so pumped to see what happens between her and Roger, a pairing I didn’t even think of until watching “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” but makes sense after going back to watch their other encounters. There’s definitely something going on, which inspired me to write this one-shot. Also, the dialogue is almost entirely lifted from the episode.</p><p>UPDATE: Alas, Pan Am was cancelled :( But I still love the finale's scenes with Kate and Roger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heat and Pressure

 

 

 

 

 

There was blood on the wall and on his face, although he was quite sure that some of it wasn’t his own. The man might have been a jeweler but he certainly fought like someone who didn’t have any qualms about trying to break someone’s jaw. A switchblade in the hands of that lunatic would have been enough to deal with even if he had been armed, but his gun had flown into a corner somewhere as they fought and he was bloody screwed, being beaten to a pulp by a traitor. The jeweler had loomed over him for a split second before lunging…and then fallen as a gunshot rang off the marble. He wheezed to his feet to face his savior and saw Kate holding his gun with shaking hands.

Lately, every time they worked together, everything went to hell.

 

 

She had played the part magnificently; he had to give her that, although, with her customary stubbornness, she had yet again taken it too far. Outside of the jeweler’s, he had warned her that failing to play her part could cost them dearly, but she had simply pouted at him and reminded him that all she wanted was to finish the mission so she could leave the CIA. He had to wonder if she was repeating her wish to “get out” to convince herself that it was even possible. If she played her cards right, it could be.

And yet, the second they had entered the store to the chime of the doorbell, she was transformed. The elegantly sparse boutique held diamonds the likes of which he was sure Kate had never seen in her life and probably never would see in person again, jewels which cost more than her meager Pan Am salary paid in a year. But she hadn’t flinched; instead, she had transformed, walking a little slower, a little straighter, into the poised sophisticate whose lover could afford to buy her multiple pieces from the cases. Thank God the CIA was footing the bill, although since it was just a loan he was still going to be left with the odious task of getting the bracelet she chose back from her. Richard would leave that up to him, of course. He watched her browse as they waited, absently toying with her own earring as she eyed a pair of ruby and silver chandelier earrings. She barely flinched when he crept up behind her.

“I think they’d look good on me, don’t you?” There was a wistfulness to her voice that caught at him. Niko hadn’t been able to buy her anything close in value to those earrings, of that he was positive.

“I think maybe this trip, we’d better stick to a bracelet.” She looked up, grey-blue eyes meeting his as she pouted again. She had opened her mouth to reply when the jeweler arrived. And then she turned, sliding her arm through his and closing the distance between them as she smiled at the tall, balding man. He had introduced himself as Mr. Bolger before directing them toward the small display case full of bracelets after Roger had indicated what he was interested in. The jeweler bowed and scraped just enough, but after his years in MI6, Roger could sense the man’s disdain, barely observable even to him. When Bolger suavely told Kate that the Dutchess of Argyle had recently been in admiring the same bracelets she had asked to examine, Roger barely resisted rolling his eyes, but Kate gasped theatrically before turning to him.

“See! I do have good taste,” she teased as she walked her fingers up his chest to tap him on the nose. He supposed it was his fault for wrapping his arm around her, but the mischievous sparkle in her eyes unnerved him. It wasn’t that he was afraid that she would blow their cover – since she stood to lose as much as he did if the jeweler discovered that they were spies – but he knew that she could get a little…reckless.

“Hmm, might be a little excessive though,” he warned, talking about more than the bracelets. She pretended to be surprised but quickly replied, “Darling, after all I do for you!” Although he knew she was referring to her role as courier and more recently as spy, his reason suddenly decided to abandon him as he put the sentence in the context of the roles they were currently playing…a stewardess and her rich, attentive lover. His mind barely had time to wander to what else, in that case, she might do for him before he called it rapidly back to attention. He struggled to recover, hemming and hawing to buy himself time as Kate glanced to meet the jeweler’s eye with a flirtatious wink.

“I suppose they do go with your eyes,” he managed to say, provoking an amused chuckle from the jeweler, who was still, Roger assessed, buying their act. Kate smiled at him, smug amusement written all over her face and he half smiled, half grimaced back at her, letting her know that she was pushing it. She turned back Bolger and asked to try on the diamond chip bracelet again, presenting her wrist with a flourish and a toss of her red curls. Regardless of the danger of the situation and her desire to leave espionage behind, she was not only good at such playacting but seemed to _enjoy_ it. “Of course, it will have to be sized for me.”

The jeweler smiled obligingly, sensing that he was close to making a sale. “Oh, we can do that. It can be ready for you tomorrow morning.” Roger would let her work out this one, just as they had planned. “Oh no! I’m a stewardess for Pan Am and our flight leaves early tomorrow.” She looked sufficiently put out, to a degree appropriate for a woman used to receiving such bracelets like trinkets, before turning that powerfully captivating gaze to the jeweler. “Perhaps you could bring it by our hotel this evening, say eight o’clock?”

Maybe that gaze wasn’t as powerful as she thought, he reflected as he noticed the barest appearance of suspicion in the other man’s eyes. Roger added quickly, “If it wouldn’t be too much of an imposition.” He saw by the tight smile on her face that Kate had realized the gamble, no doubt mentally kicking herself for pushing things too far. Bolger’s eyes met his and went back to Kate’s, coldly assessing the danger of bringing his wares even to an upscale establishment, and Roger’s grip around Kate tightened as he awaited the man’s decision. And then the jeweler must have decided the grinning redhead and her indulgent lover posed no threat, as he smiled and shrugged, replying, “Of course not.”

Kate clapped her hands and cried, “Oh!” happily. He was still grinning like an idiot at the jeweler when suddenly she had pulled his face to hers and kissed him. His mind went blank with shock; before it could process the sensation of her lips on his, she had pulled away. Still holding his face in her hands, she kept her eyes on his. “You are so good to me.” She turned back to the jeweler to smile like the pampered mistress she was supposed to be as he struggled yet again to recover from what had just happened.

His mind remained in a fog as they left the shop and walked arm in arm until they reached the park. He stopped walking and turned to face her. “You did an excellent job back there, Kate, but you overdid it a bit, don’t you think?”

Kate’s eyes were wide and falsely innocent as she looked up at him. “Roger, I don’t know what you mean. I got him to agree to meet us tonight, wasn’t that the point?” He could see in her eyes that she was daring him to bring up the kiss, challenging him because she was fully aware that he knew what she was doing. Fine then, he thought, challenge accepted.

“Yes, but throwing yourself at me like that really wasn’t.” Somehow her lips managed to pout and smile at the same time, an expression she gave him often, now that he thought about it. “Why, Roger, it was all part of the game. I was just doing what any mistress would if her man bought her something as nice as that bracelet.”

“And what would you know about being someone’s mistress?” he shot back, before he could think, in an attempt to wipe the smug look off her face. Kate laughed before turning to walk away. She glanced back at him, the triumphant grin replaced by something else that made his stomach twist with guilt when she said, “Why don’t you ask Niko?”

 

 

Roger had had plenty of time to contemplate that look as he sat nestled away in the corner of the bar for an hour or two after contacting his superiors at MI6 and that CIA ponce Richard. He recalled a similar look on her face when he had reminded her exactly what she had risked by bringing that German courier to the embassy. It was disdain and disappointment and fury and sadness all rolled together. He swigged back some more scotch. It wouldn’t do to get drunk while on a mission as tenuous as this one, but a drink was definitely in order, as the mission was far from over and all he could think about was that bloody kiss. And how given the chance, he realized, he would have kissed her back. What man wouldn’t, with those eyes staring back at him?

He was flustered, which happened rarely enough when he wasn’t concentrating on a mission. For God’s sake, how many times had he slept with some woman in order to obtain state secrets some idiotic diplomat had allowed her to overhear? And here was Kate, barely beyond courier status, wrapping him around her finger like a seasoned pro…but a pro at what, his mind could barely decide without threatening to be overwhelmed. Roger knew Kate had slept with Niko – frequently, before his departure two months ago, according to Richard, who thought his English colleague should know this information for some reason. He downed another sip of scotch, trying not to think of Kate in various states of undress. He barely knew her, she was dangerously reckless and too stubborn and sure of herself, but maybe it was that surety that attracted him – so naïve and yet revealing of an inner strength fueled by her convictions.

And he couldn’t drag his thoughts away from that kiss. A kiss that did, as she had argued in the park, fit the role she had been playing, but one which was far from necessary to convince even the suspicious jeweler. Her eyes had been an invitation – the phrase “bedroom eyes” came to mind – but he was tormented by the question: had she simply been playing? Or was the invitation independent of her role?

A glance at the bar as his eyes roved showed him that it was nearly eight o’clock. He left his drink and made his way to the lobby phone. Kate answered on the third ring, sounding distracted, which he did not fail to mention.

“We’ve been over this, I know what to do,” she told him. No doubt she was pouting, he thought.

“A half hour, that’s all I need to switch the lists.”

He could hear the intensity in her voice when she replied. “And this is it for me, I do this and I’m out?” The only reason she was helping was to save Bridget…and Niko.

“Yes, yes, you’re out.” Roger responded in an exasperated tone as his eyes scanned the lobby. He spotted Bolger talking to the bell hop, and a brief stab of fear went through him. This was not a man to mess with, as his American colleagues would say. The jeweler had no scruples about selling a list of spies to the Russians, and he was headed upstairs to Kate’s room.

“There he is, right on time. He’s on his way up to you.” He had to warn her again, even if she wouldn’t listen. “Kate—”

“What?” She replied, sounding annoyed.

“Stick to the mission.” It was all the advice he could give her in the few moments remaining before the jeweler would reach her door.

She scoffed. “I know how to be a stewardess.”

“I mean about us, our story.”

Kate sighed, now well and truly exasperated. “Don’t worry Spenser, I’ll be fine.” Her voice softened, attempting to reassure the fears he had briefly voiced. No doubt she thinks I’m only worried about the success of the mission, he thought tartly.

Wait, he thought. “Spenser?”

“I gave you a first name.” Roger rolled his eyes. Of course, she would be concerned with trivial details like her pretend lover’s first name as her target approached. “Hello?” she continued when he did not reply.

Bolger had to be almost at her door, a thought that sobered him instantly. “Be careful, Kate.”

“He’s here.” The line clicked as she hung up the phone.

 

 

When the alarm began shrieking minutes after Kate had hung up the phone, he had left before the panicked crowd could fill the lobby and make it impossible to spot Bolger. The jeweler left hastily, as if he had figured out something was amiss – which, to give him credit, Roger thought, he probably had. All the more reason to confront him and get the list of names as soon as possible.

It had taken him a few shortcuts and a few tricks to get into the boutique without Bolger noticing him, but he had managed. He was moments away from grabbing the man when Bolger spun and knocked him to the cold floor with his case. He stood quickly, tensed to fight…and fight they did. Blood began to trickle from his nose as Bolger’s fist connected with his eye before Roger managed to smash the jeweler into one of the glass cases before hoisting him to collide with the wall.

Neither of them had heard the door. Roger managed to pull out his gun, but in the scuffle, it disappeared.

Now Kate held it, her arms still outstretched even after Bolger dropped to the floor. As he stood, Roger saw her shocked expression.

Yes, everything had indeed gone to hell.

**Author's Note:**

> Cover screencaps: [FanPop](http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/pan-am/screencaps/238)  
> Cover font: 1001 Fonts


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